iOS 7 interface and new features detailed: The biggest update since the first iPhone

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Yesterday’s Worldwide Developer Conference (WWDC) keynote from Apple was jam-packed with information. New Macs, iTunes Radio, and OS X Mavericks were announced, but the biggest news was undoubtedly the unveiling of iOS 7. Helmed by Jony Ive, this new mobile operating system has a brand new look, and countless new features.

New look

Leading up to the announcement, the rumor mill was obsessed with the idea that iOS 7 would feature a flat, tile-based look aping directly from Microsoft’s UI paradigm formerly known as Metro. Turns out, that couldn’t be less accurate. Instead, iOS 7 is leaning heavily on the illusion of depth and use of animation. The classic home screen still sports a grid of rounded icons, but a simple tilt of the device shows off the brand new parallax effect that makes the icons appear as if they’re floating on a plane in 3D space.

Okay, Apple isn’t directly mimicking Microsoft’s style, but there is a little bit of WebOS in iOS 7. Double-tapping the home button will display previews of each application, and a quick swipe up will quit any application. Frankly, this is damn-near identical to Palm’s card UI. Being that WebOS is now relegated to smart TVs , it’s nice to see that Palm’s innovations aren’t going to waste.

When SVP of Software Engineering Craig Federighi showed off the newly redesigned apps, he made a point to highlight how much animation there is in iOS 7. Swiping through the new weather app shows dynamic depictions of the current climate in your selected location. Scrolling through the Reading List in Safari lets you seamlessly switch between articles without navigating the menu. This all sounds wonderful, but there will be an overhead. The big worry is that slower A4 and A5 devices like the iPhone 4, iPhone 4S, iPad 2, iPad (third-gen), and iPad Mini just won’t be able to keep up. It wouldn’t be the first time Apple pushed an update that made older devices run significantly worse.

New features

By and far the most important new feature is the added protection for lost devices in iOS 7. Previously, the Find My iPhone service allowed you to remotely lock and wipe your lost device. That was useful, but ne’er-do-wells could simply wipe the device, throw in a new SIM card, and do as they pleased. With iOS 7’s activation lock feature, your iCloud username and password will be required to activate the device even after it’s been wiped. This is a huge step forward in deterring theft, and it’s an unqualified win for legitimate users.

We all expected AirDrop to make its way to iOS, and Apple didn’t disappoint. This new system-wide feature is available for all developers to add to their application’s share sheet. Photos, videos, and contacts are easily shared from anywhere. Sadly, this feature requires a recent WiFi chipset to work properly. Only the iPhone 5, fifth-gen iPod Touch, fourth-gen iPad, and iPad Mini will get access to this feature.

Safari, Apple’s incredibly popular mobile web browser, has been given a brand new coat of paint in iOS 7. In the new version, it’ll feature a unified omnibox, the tab interface has been given a complete facelift, and the arbitrary limit on the number of tabs has been tossed out. Finally, Apple is taking a cue directly from its competitors and implementing gesture-based navigation. After years of stagnation, it seems like Safari is actually starting to get interesting again.

Android devotees have ragged on iOS for years because of its lack of proper multitasking, but Apple hasn’t given up. Slowly but surely, Cupertino has offered more options for multitasking while retaining its firm stance against battery hogging always-on apps. In iOS 7, any task will have the ability to pull down updates in the background. iOS will monitor app activity, and automatically keep your most-used apps updated at key points throughout the day. Even better, push notifications now have the ability to trigger behind-the-scenes updates. When you receive a Facebook notification, iOS 7 automatically updates the Facebook app with the relevant data. More importantly, the App Store is getting similar capabilities with the long awaited auto-update feature. John McCain must be thrilled.

Timeframe

Paid members of Apple’s iOS developer program can download the iPhone beta of iOS 7 now. Later this year, the iPad beta will make its way to developers as well. Sadly, the general public won’t get their hands on the shiny new operating system until this autumn — probably after the next-generation iPhone and iPad are released. Apple also showed off iOS integration in certain cars, but we won’t see any of that until 2014.

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http://www.techpolitik.com/ Ed Oswald

While the comparisons to Android ICS/JB and Windows Phone 8 are certainly warranted, we all need to remember just how far behind the eight ball iOS was. The interface was fine in 2008, but five years later it was really dated. Personally think they should have done away with the curved icons altogether.. but it does certainly look Apple-esque. Perfect? No. But this is a complete re-imagining of iOS pretty much from the ground up.

Phil

I think they’ve managed to keep the rounded corner icons looking good with this. I like metro but I don’t think copying it, or any other of microsoft’s design elements, would have been a good move.

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I disagree. Change for the sake of change is a poor idea. Furthermore, I fail to see what is inherently wrong about the look of iOS. So what if it looks the same? If you are tired of looking at it, simply jailbreak your iPhone and change the look using 3rd party apps. Done.

Dr Janice K Jones

Newly established interface looks like toytown: will scan forums with interest to find out how to set the interface to a less ‘Big and easy icons’ format… Blinded by primary colours… Huge frustration for those of us who just want a sleek and quiet interface ,

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